Nearly four years after the Covid-19 pandemic upended the norms of work around the world, most of us are still struggling to find a new normal. Employers are grappling with a host of conflicting demands. On the one hand, they need to boost productivity and contain costs in the face of inflationary trends and slow economic growth, and shareholders are laser-focused on the bottom line. On the other, organizations must solve what Microsoft’s chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, has called a “human energy crisis.” Many workers are burned out and disengaged, still trying to adjust to remote or hybrid work or stressed by return-to-office requirements. Some are also managing health issues — including long Covid symptoms — and caregiving roles. They’re also coping with drastically increased costs of living. According to one survey, 42% of employees say their employers don’t care about them.
The Radical Promise of Truly Flexible Work
Is it possible for companies to protect employee autonomy, engagement, and well-being, as well as job flexibility while also ensuring efficiency and productivity through a period of economic uncertainty and slower growth? The author’s research into how organizations unlock the productivity of neurodivergent and disabled workers points to a way forward — one that allows leaders to accommodate the unique needs of every team member. Comprehensive flexibility supports stronger engagement and performance, not just on a case-by-case basis but at scale. True, sustainable flexibility is about more than just work location and hours. It encompasses which tasks people do and how they get them done. It’s about making work “fit” people, not the other way around. When organizations center the design of work on humans, values, and long-term success in this way, they become productive, resilient, inclusive, and equitable.